Schools Become the Hope for the Future

During their travels in Ladakh, the practitioners visited many schools, some for the first time, some for the second, third, or even the fourth or more times. The smallest school was in a monastery with just eight little aspiring monks; the largest had more than 2,000 children. During the first morning session in late September, the Falun Dafa exercises were practiced out in the open, arched by a deep blue sky, surrounded by high mountains. It was an unforgettable experience.

During one of three sessions at a school with more than 2,000 children, the students learn about Falun Dafa.

Arched by the blue sky of Ladakh, a Falun Dafa practitioner presents the practice to traditionally dressed schoolchildren.

Early on a Sunday morning, residential students came out to review the Falun Dafa exercises they had learned earlier.

The local TV station aired a program with students performing the Falun Dafa exercises at a school in Leh. Several students talked about their view of Falun Dafa, as did the two practitioners. The program was watched by many people, to the surprise of the practitioners, who were not even sure whether it would be aired.

The next morning for example, the owner of the practitioners’ guesthouse smiled from ear to ear, and giving the thumbs up, congratulated them for having been on TV the night before.

The youngest children who learned the exercises were around three years old, and the oldest in the class was twelve. Some children who are in grade eight will attend a different school next year, as their school has classes up to grade eight only. They were worried whether the practitioners could come to their new school and practice Falun Dafa with them next year.

During a session with several hundred students, girls practice the Falun Standing Stance exercise.

Students in classes 6-10 learn the Falun Dafa exercises.

The practitioners’ experiences with the children, teachers, principals, and others have always been very moving. At each school, usually a short introduction to Falun Dafa was given, followed by a practice session of the five exercises, then a talk about the persecution in China. Posters were also displayed—posters about Falun Dafa spreading in the world and posters about the ongoing human rights violations in China. Many of the posters were shown one by one and explained.

The emphasis was on instilling Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance in the children. They are encouraged to repeat these principles of Falun Dafa a few times, “not just by mouth, but with their hearts and minds.”

The children love to come to the front to hold up posters and say, “Falun Dafa is good. Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance is good,” with the other children repeating these words after them.

In smaller schools, various videos shown on an iPad delighted and moved the children, according to age. For the young ones, the favorite activity was watching children from 2011 singing Falun Dafa Hao (Falun Dafa is Good). Most all join in happily to sing the first line of the song. Also the Falun Dafa Tian Guo Marching Band delighted the young ones.

Some of the older students experienced a Falun Dafa session at their school for the third time.

During a small session for eight aspiring monks, a boy learns the Falun Dafa exercises.

At one of the schools in Leh, Falun Dafa was presented to around 400 students in grades six through ten for the first time. The students listened attentively to the presentation about Falun Dafa's first introduction to the public. They then learned the exercise movements, and heard about the ongoing persecution happening to Falun Dafa practitioners in China.

After the session, a girl stood up and said, “I think Falun Dafa is very good, and it should be practiced everywhere – not just in India.”

The practitioner visited a relatively small school in Leh for the third time. The students in grades one through ten were very focused, especially the older students, who had learned the exercises before.

A new teacher suddenly walked up to one of the practitioners and wanted to know more about the background of Falun Dafa. When given the bigger picture, she said, “You are doing very good work.”

There are indeed countless moving stories and experiences with the children.

A mother, whom the practitioner met while visiting a friend, told her that after her son was introduced to Falun Dafa at school, he now sits every evening, closes his eyes, and repeats, “Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance is good. Falun Dafa is good.”

One girl said, “I felt so good when doing the exercises.”

Another girl said, “I pray to God every day that the persecution and killing in China will stop.”

A lawyer said that he also wanted his son to know about Falun Dafa, and requested that the practitioner not only visit his son's boarding school class as she had done in previous years, but to also let the entire school know about it.

Children from other schools, as well as teachers from sometimes very remote areas, invited the practitioner to come to their schools.

Schools’ Appreciation

The practitioner received many appreciation letters, for example: “This is to certify that [...], a practitioner of Falun Dafa, has given an advanced talk of a self-cultivation practice that is based on exercises and meditation of the universal principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance to the students of our school for the third time on August 19, 2017.

“Therefore, the school really appreciates your volunteer initiative in promoting world peace. The world is in need of people like you to create an amicable ambiance through promoting inner peace. May you succeed in your future endeavors.”

Another appreciation letter reads: “I owe my heartfelt gratitude to [...] who gave an introduction to Falun Dafa at our school. She bestowed the blessings of this spiritual treasure on the students as well as the teachers in the month of August. She conducted five sessions with overwhelming response from the students.

“Falun Dafa does not only mean a spiritual journey but at the same time it inculcates the values of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance. It is a path of divine light which has been in existence since time immemorial. We really appreciate the effort of [...]. We wish her the best in her life.”

Another appreciation letter reads: “It is stated that [...], a practitioner of Falun Dafa, conducted a session at our institution on August 28, 2017 for esteemed staff members and students of Vidyalaya. Exercises and the universal values of Truthfulness, Compassion and Tolerance were taught during this session to all the esteemed participants by [...] in a very practical way.

“The teachers and young minds learned a lot to create a peaceful, prosperous, compassionate and truthful environment. The training session was fruitful and successful, and it inculcated the values among all. The entire school is grateful to [...] and wishes her the very best in her life. May everyone benefit from the teachings of Falun Dafa. Madam, may your journey on this noble path be successful.”

Sadly, not all schools could be visited, not even all nearby ones, as there were many other important activities waiting to be done.

Falun Dafa Workshops

Despite hardly any advertisements, locals and tourists attended the daily sessions to learn the Falun Dafa exercises, which the practitioners offered during the several weeks. These classes were very much appreciated with sometimes more than ten people attending.

During a workshop, locals and tourists gather to learn the Falun Dafa exercises.

Even before the sessions were held on a daily basis, an introduction to Falun Dafa was occasionally offered. One evening, a young tourist from Ireland and a local policewoman attended. On another evening a tourist from Germany attended although she was suffering from a headache and diarrhea, due to an 18-hour bus ride that had brought her up to the high altitude of Leh the day before.

“By chance,” she again came across one of the practitioners the following day, and happily reported, “Nachher ging’s mir super” (“Afterwards I was extraordinarily fine”).

The lawyer who had requested that the practitioners come to his son’s school came one evening to do the exercises, and two school teachers were also among the participants. Several local college students came several times, and two of them bought the introductory book Falun Gong from a local bookshop.

Local Institutions

As with every year, local institutions such as hospitals, clinics, offices of political leaders, the court, and libraries (district libraries, school libraries, and libraries at other places) were visited and offered books and other materials.

At the court, many concerned persons were met, a variety of materials distributed, such as Falun Dafa books, books that report on the situation in China, magazines, DVDs, flyers, etc., and of course the much-beloved lotus flowers with the words, “Falun Dafa is good.”

One person in an office openly has these materials on his desk and gives them selectively to those who he knows will read them. Many others distributed them further in other locations.

A high-ranking Ladakhi official, very clear on what it means if people are persecuted in China for their belief and the importance of raising awareness about the human rights violations, said, “What happens in China can happen anywhere.”

May the seeds spread by the practitioner in all these past years keep sprouting, blooming, and blossoming! May many more people learn, “Falun Dafa is good!”